March trends newsletter, the MacroMonitor

• According to the US Chamber of Commerce, America is experiencing a labor shortage. In January 2023, workforce participation remained below pre-pandemic levels with 3 million fewer workers. According to the Chamber’s survey of unemployed workers, two main reasons are cited for sitting on the sidelines: illness or health concerns (28%) and caregiving responsibilities (27%). The lack of, or cost, (or both) for childcare is keeping many women out of the workforce. Pay gaps and absence of affordable childcare are not insoluble problems. With fewer college-educated men available than previously, industry is encouraged to consider, what is your long-term strategy to attract and retain educated women?

• Although pay equity laws have been around since the US’s  Equal Pay Act of 1963, the gender pay gap persists. Technology has made it easier to recognize and analyze pay discrepancies; legislators have taken notice. The number of pay equity and pay transparency laws has increased accordingly. For example, as of this year (2023), California requires larger employers to report both demographic and pay data to the state. Pay equity violations are not only expensive but more easily spotted than they used to be. Posting wide salary ranges are already coming under increased scrutiny. Fifteen states and at least a dozen cities have enacted bans on salary-history inquiries. Many recent college women graduates have learned how to advocate for themselves and negotiate pay. It is a priority of educated female applicants for guarantees and documentation and employers that your pay and promotion policies are equitable and will remain so. 

• In 2020, the American Association of University Women determined that women have only 32% of the wealth that men have, only 70% of retirement funds (for those who have any) and carry two-thirds of the nation’s student debt. As more women live unpartnered lives, the pay gap translates into a wealth gap. At the current rate of progress, it will be 2111 before the pay gap between women and men will close. Our country can’t afford to wait that long! As the proportion of “Unpartnered” households continue to increase (November 2021) the myth of men-as-breadwinners is no longer a plausible excuse for discrimination. The more money women have, the more they will pump back into the economy. Has your organization had ‘the’ conversation about how to promote women?

• McKinsey & Company’s most recent Women in the Workplace (October 2022) study confirms that women are still underrepresented in leadership. “For every 100 men who are promoted from entry level to manager, only 87 women are promoted, and only 82 women of color are promoted… Women leaders are also leaving companies at an extraordinary rate. For every woman at the director level who gets promoted to the next level, two women directors are choosing to leave their company.” Does your company a) have a formalized mentoring program? b) Encourage opportunities for women to collaborate and to build networks? c) Are women respected members of teams that develop these policy?

NOTE: Women’s efforts to change discrimination and inequality from within the financial sector are bearing fruit. The Secretary of the Treasury and the Vice Chair of the Federal Bank are women; four women serve as presidents of Federal Reserve Banks (Boston, Cleveland, Kansas City and San Francisco). Six women sit on the Senate Finance Committee. The four leaders of the two congressional spending committees are women; three women serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. In the public sector, two of the country’s largest banks are headed by women—Jane Fraser CEO at Citigroup and Ellen Cooper, Chairman of Lincoln Financial Group.